The Secret
by TheShadowWriter
Summary: And so my first fanfic draws to a close. What will my next one be? preview inside
1. Chapter 1

Hi! This is my first time posting so this story may not be so good. Please comment on how I may improve.

Note: I don't own Ghost Hunt or the characters.

* * *

Naru sat at his desk staring at the documents in his hand. After a while, he rubbed his eyes, set the documents down, and put his head in his hands.

Naru felt tired due to the sleep interrupted nights. _What's wrong with me?_ Naru asked himself as he rubbed his baggy eyes. At that moment Lin came in.

"What's wrong Naru?" Lin asked which surprised Naru because he normally never talks at all.

"I haven't been sleeping lately. Something interrupts my sleep," Naru replied.

Lin nodded his head in reply. He then looked around the office space. The office was strangely quiet. Mai, Masako, Ayako, John, and Takigawa had all left for a week to attend a festival that was being held. Naru and Lin, of course, had stayed away from the festival.

"Excuse me, Naru, I must attend to some family business," Lin returned a few minutes later.

Naru nodded.

* * *

Naru found himself in a park at night. The lights were on which gave slight illumination. Benches were placed with regular intervals between them. Listening intently he could make out running water, birds, and…crying?

Walking towards the crying he found Mai. She was sitting under a large oak tree. Her clothes had a layer of dirt covering them and had a few tears.

"Mai?" Naru called out softly.


	2. Chapter 2

Hi! The second part to "The Secret"

Note: I don't own Ghost Hunt or its characters.

Flashback:

Walking towards the crying he found Mai. She was sitting under a large oak tree. Her clothes were covered in a layer of dirt and had a few tears.

"Mai?" Naru called out softly.

Mai looked up to see Naru in his usual black clothes, standing in his usual fashion. The only thing different was that his eyes showed concern.

"Naru." Mai said before crying again.

"What's wrong Mai?" Naru asked the young brunette.

Mai looked up, tears streaming down her face.

"My dog ran away and I sniff tried to find it sniff but I ended up sniff falling down that hill over there," Mai said, continuing to cry.

Naru looked. The hill, as she had called it was more like a small cliff. It had a six foot drop that landed on rocks. How Mai had been foolish enough to fall, he had no idea.

Naru grabbed her hand and raised her up.

"There, there," he said, "Don't worry, I'll find your dog. Everything will be all right."

Saying so, he pulled her into his chest and wrapped his arms around her. "You're mine Mai, and I will never let anyone or anything hurt you ever again."

"Really?" Mai asked.

"Really." Naru answered.

His heart beating fiercely, he leaned in towards her mouth to give her a kiss. Closing his eyes and gulping, he made contact with…a pillow?

Suddenly, Naru wasn't in the park anymore. He wasn't holding Mai, and he wasn't kissing her. Instead, he found himself back at his house, sitting upright in bed, the sheets on the floor, holding and kissing a pillow.

_Drat, _was all Naru could think.

Somewhere, in a small room, Lin's mouth gaped. He stared at the screen and looked at all the views the cameras had captured.

Having been worried about Naru, he had set up cameras in his house to see if anything was the matter. What he just saw answered it all.

The next day, after Naru had gone into his office, Lin placed a video inside the TV.

Soon, the rest of the SPR team came in, all except Mai.

"Oh, are we watching a movie?" John asked Lin.

Lin nodded his head.

"What's it called?" Ayako asked.

"You'll find out soon enough," Lin answered.


	3. Chapter 3

We resume Lin's evil scheme. What is he planning? What will Naru do? Does this have anything to do with ghosts?

Note: I don't own Ghost Hunt or the characters.

Flashback:

Lin placed a video inside the TV. Soon, the rest of the SPR team piled in, all except Mai.

"Are we watching a movie?" John asked.

Lin nodded in response.

"What's it called?" Ayako asked.

"You'll find out soon enough," Lin replied.

Lin pressed play and the movie started.

The opening scene was a neat room. Naru was tossing and turning in the bed, kicking off the sheets. Soon enough, he was still.

"Mai?" he called out softly, sitting up in bed.

"What's wrong Mai?" he asked to no one.

"There, there," he said, picking up his pillow, "I'll find your dog. Everything will be all right."

As he said this, he wrapped his arms around the pillow.

"You're mine Mai, and I will never let anyone or anything hurt you ever again," he said. He then leaned forward and kissed the pillow.

Suddenly, he woke up and shook his head. A sigh of sadness came from his mouth as he lay down and went back to sleep.

As the movie ended, the room went silent. The faces of everyone were blank for a few minutes. Then, they each changed.

John's face was a mix of happiness and laughter.

Ayako's face had "I told you so" all over it.

Takigawa's face was full of happiness.

Only Masako's face was contorted with rage and bitterness.

Then, everyone, except Masako, began laughing, Lin included. Eventually they stopped laughing. However, when Mai came in, they began laughing hysterically all over again.

Mai quickly examined herself, looking for any possible reason for them to be laughing. "What's so funny?" Mai asked.

Unable to reply because they had been laughing too much, Takigawa went to the TV and rewound it until it reached the beginning. Mai watched as the movie played.

While she watched, her face contorted into many weird positions. When she frowned, the laughter ceased, which brought Naru to peak out of his door to see what was so funny and then so not funny.

Naru was just in time to hear him tell "Mai" that she was his and that he would never let anyone or anything hurt her. Naru could have sworn his face turned redder than a tomato. _How many people saw that? Let's see...Lin, Masako, Ayako, Takigawa, and John. Wher's Mai? _

At the end of the movie, Mai turned around and walked out the door. She looked like a ghost as she moved with an expressionless face. As soon as the door shut, the laughter became greater.

At this, Masako excused herself and also exited, her face showing every expression of sadness.

Seeing this, Naru decided to come out of his office, only to be greeted by laughter which stopped as soon as he cleared his throat, promptly, everyone except Lin, who hid in the bathroom, left.

Naru walked towards the TV and shut it off before returning to his office.

* * *

Suspense! What will Naru do? What will Mai do? 


	4. Chapter 4

We return to my story. Everyone has seen Naru's confession. What will happen?

I don't own Ghost Hunt or any of the characters.

Mai walked down the street in a daze, trying to figure out what was on the video.

_That can't be Naru. That can't be Naru. Who was it?_ Mai thought.

**_It was totally Naru! I'm so happy! This is awesome! He totally digs us!_** Was the immediate response from her more daring side.

_No! I'm not happy! Think about the relationship between us! We have to work with each other a lot! It would be too awkward!_ Mai retorted in wonder at herself.

_**Not awkward, totally awesome!**_

_Will you stop saying awesome please?_

_**Never!**_

Mai began to be thoroughly frustrated with herself. _How can I be thinking about this?_ She thought. _I better go back to the office. Things will sort themselves out._

Back at the office, Naru sat at his desk, his head in his hands. Since he had seen the movie, he hadn't been able to work. Instead, thoughts swirled around in his mind.

_What will Mai think? What will Masako think? Of course Masako would be upset, but what about Mai? She is normally predictable but…what will she think this time?_

A knock came from his door.

"Come in," Naru said, assured that it was Lin (who at this time was still hiding in the bathroom) who was coming to apologize. Instead, he was surprised by Mai. "Mai." Naru gulped.

"Hello, Naru! Would you like some tea?" Mai asked. Naru listened to her voice. It seemed like she hadn't seen the tape.

_Maybe I was mistaken. Maybe she didn't see the tape._

"Yes," Naru answered swiftly.

"Okay," Mai answered, turning around to get the tea. She turned a bit too fast, revealing her underwear ever so slightly, to Naru's fascination.

_Blue with white clouds,_ he noted. _No! Stop thinking about that! It seems that Mai didn't see the tape. That's good. Perhaps we can continue the way we always have._ Even as Naru thought this, he realized that there was a part of him that didn't want things to be the way they were. He didn't want to be the annoying boss. He wanted to be her…

A knock at the door tore him from his thoughts. Mai entered and set the tea down in front of him.

_Still no indication she's seen the video, _he thought.

"Naru, can I ask you something?" Mai asked.

"What is it?" Naru asked in a gruff voice.

"Did you really mean it? What you said, did you really mean it?" Mai asked.

Naru was for the first time in his lifetime caught off-guard. He had no idea what to say except for, "About what?"

"About finding my dog. He's lost. You said you would help find him," Mai reminded him.

_This is bad. She saw the video. _"Yes, I meant it. After work, why don't we go and look for your dog?" Naru replied as best he could.

Mai nodded happily and joyfully walked out of the room.

After work, Naru drove Mai around the town in his car, looking for her dog. The ride was very uncomfortable for Naru. He wished it would end soon, and yet…

"I see him!" Mai shouted.

"You do not need to be so loud," Naru said to Mai who immediately frowned.

"Sorry," Mai said as she ran out of the car towards her dog. Naru sighed and followed her.

When he reached her, she was hugging her Airedale Terrier. The dog was a bit big and his head reached to just a bit above her waist. The dog had huge teeth and seemingly razor sharp nails. Despite this, he seemed to be gentle and eagerly licked Mai's face.

"Well, you have your dog back," Naru said.

_But I don't have you._ Naru thought. _Don't think about that!_ He told himself.

"I have a reward for you Naru," Mai said.

"I really don't need…" Naru started before Mai cut him off.

"Oh yes you do, now close your eyes, put your hands behind your back and open your hands," Mai instructed.

Naru did as she asked and waited patiently. _She'll probably give me a book or something,_ he thought.

Suddenly, he felt something touching his lips. Opening his eyes he saw Mai take away her face and, with her dog following her, run away.

Naru's face turned bright red as he touched his lips in remembrance. He suddenly felt dizzy. He collapsed on a bench in a daze. He sat for about an hour before going home.

I have thought of a chapter 5…I must make this immediately.

But, alas, I still don't own Ghost Hunt or any of the characters!  Oh well, some things can't be helped.


	5. Chapter 5

And so the plot continues! (Amazingly) Why was Lin laughing? How will it all end? When will it all end? How is it I thought of a longer plot?

Disclaimer: As you probably already know, I don't own Ghost Hunt or any of the characters.

Naru walked into his office. After glancing around and listening for a while he noticed something was amiss. _It's quiet…Too quiet._ Indeed, no noise came from the office.

"Lin? Lin, are you here?" Naru asked. When he heard no response, he checked Lin's office.

Lin's office was very neat. The computer, phone, and lights were off, his hat and coat weren't here. In fact, the only thing out of place was a small post-it note on the computer's screen.

_Meet SPR at Takigawa's house for a special game night. _

"Game? He ditched work for a…game night?" Naru asked no one in particular. "I guess I better go get them,"

Arriving sometime later, Naru rang the doorbell. He was greeted by the whole SPR team except for Mai, Masako, and Lin. _That's fishy._

"Come in! Come in!" Takigawa urged, "We just finished watching the best movie ever! You have to see it!"

Naru stared at him as only Naru can before entering the house and being led to a dark room.

Promptly on his arrival, Ayako and John left. _That's even fishier._

Pressing play, Takigawa stepped back.

Naru's eyes grew wider as the movie played. In it were many more scenes of him confessing his love for Mai to a pillow. Yes, a pillow. Naru's face began growing red, which was okay because the room was too dim to see anything.

For what seemed like years, the movie dragged on before finally coming to a stop.

"Who filmed this?" Naru asked.

Takigawa shrugged and said, "Naru, we all know how you feel about Mai, and buddy, just out of curiosity…are you going to tell her or do we have to show her this video?"

"Are you threatening me?" Naru asked.

Takigawa thought for a moment before saying, "Yes. As a matter of fact, I am."

Naru sighed. _Yikes! He's threatening to show this to Mai. She'll laugh! I mean, how many times did I tell the pillow I loved her?_

"So you will show Mai if I don't tell her?" Naru asked.

Joined by Ayako and John, they all nodded.

"Just one more question." Naru said.

"What?"

"Where's Mai?" Naru asked.

"Mai's at her house. Today's her day off, or don't you remember anything about your underlings?" Takigawa teased.

Naru exited with a smoldering stare at them.

"Ladies and gentlemen, Naru has left the building." Takigawa said, only to be greeted by cold stares.

Mai sat down on her coach. Today had been fun. She'd gone shopping and bought a cute outfit. It was a blue shirt with the words in green "The day is full or surprises" on it. It was a little tight, but still comfortable. She also bought a blue skirt with a green belt. The skirt had ruffles and went very well with the shirt.

Mai heard a knock at the door and went to answer it. Naru stood there, hands behind his back, a strange look on his face.

"It's my day off, remember?" Mai asked.

"I remember…I just…" Naru stumbled in saying.

Mai waited patiently.

"I just wanted to say…nice outfit," Naru said.

"Thanks?" Mai replied.

"I have to go," Naru finally said.

"Okay." Mai said as she closed the door.

_You choked! You completely choked! _Naru yelled at himself.

The next day at the SPR headquarters, Takigawa casually walked over to Mai. "Did he tell you?"

"Yes, he did." Mai said, referring to the clothing compliment.

"Good! You two are so cute together!" Takigawa said, walking off.

Mai stood there puzzled. "Oh well."

The day continued mostly uneventful after that. Soon, everyone left except Mai and Naru. Mai was getting ready to leave, putting the knives away when Naru came up behind her. Mai accidentally cut herself and yipped at the sudden pain.

"Mai!" Naru exclaimed. In a sudden rush of motion, he turned Mai around and put her cut finger inside his mouth.

AN: Her finger wasn't cut horribly, just a little nick.

Mai's eyes grew huge and began blushing horribly.

"You have to be more careful," Naru told her.

Mai nodded. "I have band aids at home. Don't worry, I'm fine." She pulled away her finger.

Naru nodded. Mai was almost out the door when she heard a whispered _Taniyama Mai, I love you._

Mai didn't think about it until she got home. Whereupon, she fell onto her couch and stayed there for the rest of the day.

I suppose this is the end of my story…it was fun to write. Maybe I shall write a story one day that Mai really understands the meaning of the whispering.

What shall my next story be?

Preview:

"Mai's gone!" Ayako cried to the gathered assembly.

"What?" Naru exclaimed.

"We can't find her anywhere," Ayako explained.

"Look everywhere! We must find her!"


End file.
